


Shattered Promises

by AryllBricen



Series: Want For Nothing; Need For Everything [5]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-12-28 08:34:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21133787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AryllBricen/pseuds/AryllBricen
Summary: Yet another, and the last, preview short. Please let me know your favorite.





	Shattered Promises

James glanced back, quickly at the dark figure behind him to ensure it was following him before entering the building. The warehouse was dark. Good cover for me, James thought; However, the guy following him didn’t seem at all perturbed by the lack of light. James spared a look around to find a good hiding place before scrambling up to a ledge a good ten feet off the ground then sat quietly as he watched the character turn his head in a half-circle to peer around his surroundings. James cursed himself when it began heading towards his position, it’s footsteps and clothes silent despite the amount of clothing he was wearing and how tall he was. The door slammed after it entered, but the guy made no signs of noticing as he approached. For a split moment, James looked down to grip the hilt of his gun before looking back, but the creature was gone. He searched and was both terrified and impressed that it was directly beneath him. It stared up at him and in the dim moonlight shining through the window, James could see it hungry yellow eyes staring up at him. James yanked a small device from his pocket and smiled as he pressed the button and an explosion rocked the building. He watched in proud satisfaction as the dust surrounded the falling creature as a sinkhole formed beneath its feet. James grinned in victory until the dust cleared and he spotted the guy standing unscathed in the hole, staring up at him and James smirked, chuckling.  
“Little stuck down there, Bud?” he called down to it with a shit-eating grin as it backed up several steps, looking around with sharp eyes. However, James’ amusement died quickly when the creature ran forward at impressive speeds and leaped upward. He won’t make it, James thought to himself, but his grin faded and he went pale as it gripped the side of the crater and swung himself up and out of the hole, landing easily on his feet. James went pale as it looked up at him as if he was asinine.  
“Now, now...you didn’t think a mere twenty-foot drop was going to stop me, did you, Human?” it spoke, it’s multitoned voice gravelly and low like a growl as it cocked it’s head to the side. Human…? James thought to himself as something clicked and his eyes widened in horror.  
“You’re that thing responsible for all those dried up corpses, aren’t you?!” James snarled in anger, his fury only growing as the thing chuckled.  
“I will admit, you are mildly brighter than they were. You did not simply allow me to feed while you screamed and flailed hopelessly. I appreciate the good hunt,” it grumbled in amusement.  
“What the Hell are you?!” James snapped as he searched for a better position; However, before he could get to his feet, the creature was behind him, hands behind it’s back and an amused smirk on his face. As James turned, he could see the sharpness of its teeth up close and his face went pure white under its gaze. He yanked his gun from its sheath and pointed it at him as it rose it’s right hand and shut his eyes as he fired the gun. The jolt of the gun and the fear of being shriveled up like the other victims made James stumbled back and over the edge of the ledge and into the pit below. He fired one last shot before he fell and was horrified by the sound that reached his ears. A sound so inhuman and high pitched it reminded him of monsters in horror movies he watched as a kid. The both of them tumbled into the sinkhole below, James managing to remain relatively unscathed as he rolled on contact with the ground. He rolled to one knee, holding the gun at the ready as he was sure the drop wouldn’t have killed the creature. However, he was shocked to find it lying on it’s back, clutching it bleeding hand to its chest as it writhed in pure agony, teeth bare and ground and eyes screwed shut. James got to his feet and approached slowly, keeping his barrel aimed carefully at its head. It clutched his hand by the wrist, gasping for air. James looked down at it confused. It’s just his hand...why is he in so much pain…? He thought as he crouched beside it, noting the dark red blood and acid green substance pouring from its hand.  
“Yo, uh...you good? The other bullets didn’t seem to bother ya...looks like that hurts pretty bad,” James spoke slowly, hesitant to help the thing that was trying to kill him, but his heart never did let him do what he knew was just. The creature trembled in agony as it ground its fangs together.  
“J-John...Shep-ppard…” he gasped and James raised a brow.  
“I don’t know who that is...that a victim of yours?”  
“C-Call...him...he w-will...co-come for...m-me…”  
“Okay…? Got a number?”  
“N-No...lives...C-Colorado…”  
“Well, I guess that’s something,” James sighed as he pulled out his phone and entered the area code number for Colorado. He held the phone to his ear as his call was answered.  
“John Sheppard, please?”  
A pause.  
“Thank you.”  
He waited for a while as he watched the Wraith squirm on the floor. The phone beeped and a voice answered with a simple ‘Hello’.  
“John Sheppard?”  
‘Yeah, who’s asking?’  
“Sir, my name is James Northwood. I’ve got someone here who told me to call you. Someone...uhm...different. A little green actually…” he explained quietly and a sigh came from the other end of the line.  
‘This someone doesn’t happen to have white hair and fangs, does he…?’  
“Yes, Sir…”  
A groan came from the other end followed by a crash that James assumed was something being thrown.  
‘What happened now?’ Sheppard inquired with a slight growl.  
“I uhm...I shot him, Sir. He was chasing me and I shot him,” James explained further as he swept his gaze over the creature on the floor.  
‘He should be fine then,’ James heard Sheppard mumble, but he quickly interveined.  
“Actually, Sir...he looks like he’s in a lot of pain. He had trouble talking while he was telling me who you were.”  
Silence from the other end for a while.  
‘Where’d you shoot him…?’ John croaked over the phone and James went pale at the tone of his voice.  
“His right hand…”  
‘Shit!’ John snarled and James moved the phone an inch away in response to the loud sound.  
‘Alright, I’m getting someone to track your location. I’m on my way, alright? Don’t go anywhere near him. You got that?’  
“Yes, Sir,” James replied, stepping away from the creature.  
‘Can you put the phone on speaker, let me talk to him?’ John asked, quietly, a hint of worry in his voice.  
“Yes, Sir,” James replied before turning the phone on speaker and placing it on the ground beside the creature’s head.  
‘Todd, ya there?’  
The creature opened its eyes, barely and took a deep breath before responding.  
“Sh-Shep-ppard-d…?”  
‘Damn, Todd...you sound like shit,’ John joked, half-heartedly and a small pained smile graced the creature’s lips.  
“Per-haps…b-but it is...n-nice to h-hear y-your v-voic-ce...Sh-Sheppard…”  
‘How bad is it?’ John asked as James rubbed his arm in shame.  
“I...c-can not...m-move…” Todd explained with a cough that sounded remarkably sickly.  
“I...u-urge you t-to hurry…” it gasped as it closed its eyes, his body convulsing as his hand shook.  
‘How much time you got?’ John asked, worried and afraid.  
“....Minutes….” was the last thing the creature said before falling unconscious. John sighed.  
‘Kid, ya there? James, is it?’  
James picked up the phone and held it up.  
“Yes, Sir”  
‘He means an awful lot to me so...if you could just keep an eye on him, I’d be really grateful.’  
“Sure...you friends?” James asked and John paused, thinking.  
‘Something like that, yeah…’  
“He’s been here for months…”  
‘I know...we had no idea where he disappeared to, but...I guess we didn’t consider he went to Earth.’  
“So he’s an extraterrestrial?” James asked and John sighed making a sound of confirmation. James made a face of amazement but said nothing as he stared down at the creature in awe.  
“You said its name is Todd?”  
‘His name, yeah. I named him that,’ John explained, emphasizing ‘his’ to prove a point.  
"Right...sorry, Sir. I'm doing my best here...I've never seen a creature like him before..."  
'Yeah...just watch him. I'm coming. Don't get too close.'  
John paused.  
'You'll regret it.'


End file.
